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Irradiated prawns in front of a radiation symbol. Irradiation of food is controversial and banned in some countries. The process exposes food to ionising radiation, killing harmful bacteria that may be present, although it may also destroy nutrients or form new, unknown compounds. Prawn is a general term for any of the larger shrimp- like crustaceans. Typically they are transparent, only becoming pink once they have been cooked. The edible part of their body is the abdominal muscle that they use for swimming.